Chasing After Souls
by risokura
Summary: Apollo contemplates enlisting the help of the Fey clan for a channeling but is met with opposition from Klavier.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Ace Attorney.

**A/N: **Another one written for the PW Kink Meme. A drabble of sorts.

_Chasing After Souls_

"I've been thinking about visiting Kurain Village."

Klavier nearly dropped the mug he placed down on the counter and glanced over his shoulder to where Apollo was sitting at the breakfast bar behind him. Apollo didn't look up from his work as he scribbled away at the stack before him. He took a sip from the crisp white mug that held the coffee Klavier had recently brewed and set it down again.

Klavier reached for the whistling tea kettle on the stove and moved it away from the heated eye. He had forgone a quicker caffeine rush and settled on tea as his beverage of choice that evening, "…Why could you possibly want to go there?"

Apollo paused briefly to meet Klavier's eyes. "I don't have to explain myself. You know why."

The prosecutor turned away from Apollo and sighed inwardly as he recollected the events that had happened that past winter. It had been two months since that dreadful case at the space center that shook it down to its very core. The mystery of the Phantom had finally been laid to rest after seven long years and perhaps it was time for the horrible memories of that incident to finally rest as well. However, given the circumstances, Klavier knew things were easier said than done.

He began steeping a tea bag into his mug, "…Have long have you been thinking about it?"

"Since the New Year." Apollo answered, closing the manila folder in his hand, "I was waiting for things to die down a bit before I actually went."

_The New Year?_ Klavier brought the mug to his lips and blew on it cautiously. "…So, it's been on your mind for awhile then? Have you talked with anyone about it?"

"Mr. Wright, obviously. He was the first person I mentioned it to… and he didn't really approve of the idea." Apollo drifted off, "But, I feel like he doesn't really have any grounds to speak against me on this one. After all, thanks to the Kurain Channeling Technique, he received _quite_ a bit of help from his deceased mentor during his early years as a lawyer."

"Why? What did he say?"

"I mentioned it to him one night while we were going over the paperwork for the Evan's case last month. You know… the one with the guy with the hatchet stuck in the back of his head?"

"…That one was quite a doozy, ja?"

"Yeah, anyway… he advised against it." Apollo took a sip of his coffee, "When I brought up everything with Mia Fey, he said those were completely different circumstances. He believes it's better to let spirits rest. …But I don't agree with him at all."

_Hm…_ Klavier stroked his chin, "And what of the Feys? …Have you contacted the Master and asked her for any assistance?"

"No. I just told you I've been thinking about it, didn't I?" Apollo snapped.

"There's always a matter of consultation, isn't there? To make sure you're up for whatever it is that you're about to be involved in."

Apollo shrugged, "I didn't get that far. For the last time, I've been _thinking_ about it. I haven't done anything yet." He looked up at Klavier, "…Well?"

"Are you ask me for my opinion as well?"

"I wouldn't have brought this up if I weren't."

Klavier set his mug down and crossed his arms over his chest. "…Well, I agree with Herr Wright."

"…Klavier, you can't be serious."

"Very much so." Klavier replied, "Have you forgotten how much of a mess you were two months ago, Apollo? Those wounds are still fresh and yet you seem eager to open them up again."

"He was my _best friend_, Klavier." Apollo countered, "I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. He was in the wrong place at the wrong time and what happened should have never occurred. I don't think you understand just how much of myself that I lost to that case."

"What solace can you find in chasing after the souls of the deceased?" Klavier asked, finding that it was becoming increasingly hard to keep a calm head in this discussion. "A month and a half ago, all you could think about was revenge. That was the only thing on your mind and it was so bad that you nearly drove all of us away with your need to discover the truth."

"Are we going to play this game?" Apollo asked, "What about what happened to you a year ago in October? Do you remember a certain Jurist trial we were both involved in?"

"…That … was a completely different matter, Apollo. My brother was guilty… we all knew it. I just didn't have the courage to face it." Klavier sighed heavily, "But when all was said and done, I accepted what fate had thrown into my lap and dealt with it in the months that passed."

"But your brother is still alive."

Klavier laughed sardonically, "Ha, still breathing, sure. Do I have any contact with him? No. We might as well consider him to be dead." He looked up at Apollo again, "This … this contacting the deceased thing? This running after the souls of the dead that you seem so intent on doing… it's a terrible idea…" He sipped his tea. "It won't do anything to help you in the long run."

"What are you going to tell me, Klavier? _'Apollo, it won't bring him back'_. Is that it? Because if it is, I'm not dumb. I know that." Apollo said, "But I … I can't do this anymore, I just … I want to see him. I want to talk to him one last time. That's all I want."

"So, you meet Clay again. Then what happens? What do you talk about? Do you tell him everything that's happened in your life since he ceased to exist in it? What does he tell you, Apollo?" Klavier asked. "…Because the dead don't have lives. Their existence ends when they're buried six feet below the ground with no words left to speak."

Klavier could see the impact of his words almost immediately. Anger was already seeping in and marred the features of Apollo's young face. As he opened his mouth to respond, Apollo's first impulse was to curse the prosecutor out. He didn't _need_ Klavier's permission to do anything.

"I don't need you here to question anything about me, Gavin." Ah, they were using last names now. He was clearly pissed off. Apollo clenched his pen tightly in his hand, "I don't have to justify anything to you outside of the court of law and I'm not going to start now." He stepped down off the stool he was sitting on and pulled his messenger bag from the other chair, "In fact, I think I should be heading home now. I've got work to do and I'm slacking off by sitting here talking about personal matters that don't even concern you."

"Forehead." Klavier sighed, reaching over to grab Apollo's wrist just as Apollo reached for his giant stack of papers to jam into his bag.

"Don't—" Apollo slapped his hand away, "—_touch_ me."

"Apollo, _bitte_." Klavier began as he watched Apollo walk to the couch and throw his coat over his arm. He rounded back to the kitchen bar where his messenger bag was waiting for him and was met with more opposition from Klavier, "Will you just listen to me for five minutes?"

"I've already heard enough!" Apollo finally yelled at him, "I thought you'd be behind me in this. You're always talking about me getting closure for this whole incident and yet here you are discouraging me from moving on!"

"You misunderstand me." Klavier began, "…I want you to move on, but this isn't the way to do it. Honestly, Apollo, think for a minute if the situation were reversed and you were the one that had been killed. What would you want Clay to do? Would you want your best friend to live restlessly with the memory of your death for the rest of his life? …Wouldn't you want him to hold onto your memory … but find peace at the same time?"

"…What kind of question is that? Of course I'd want him to find peace, but I…" He lowered his gaze, "But I'm not dead. I don't know what I would want."

"Perhaps it would be nice if we sat and talked about this, ja?" Klavier asked, taking hold of Apollo's hand and leading the defense attorney over to his couch. He sat down and pulled Apollo down into the space across from him, "…I think about them sometimes, too."

"Daryan and Kristoph?" Apollo asked, throwing his coat over the arm of the chair, "But you can still talk to them. They're not dead."

Klavier laughed, but it was bitter, "Forehead, they might as well be. Kristoph refuses to see me no matter how many times I try to drop by and see him. Daryan will come out and talk but he always has little to say." He shrugged, "But, it's been a year and I've dealt with the loss and have moved on with my life. And that's… that's what I want you to do."

"How can I move on if I don't have closure?"

Klavier gazed out of the floor to ceiling windows in his living room to the setting sun and sighed heavily, "…Time …time will be your closure. After the nightmares stop, you'll find other things to focus on. Maybe you'll go back to whatever upsets you every now and then… but you'll remember where you are in your present and that should be enough to bring you back. Nostalgia doesn't exist as a means for you to live your life. What kind of life would you have if it were?"

"…You would never move forward."

"Exactly."

"…You're worried about me chasing a past that's in the process of being put to rest, I get it." Apollo sighed, "I'm not going to lose sight of what's important in the present … but I can't forget everything that shaped my past, either."

"…Then you'll reconsider seeing the Feys?"

"I never said that." Apollo shook his head, "…But, if I go…perhaps you could come with me?"

"…Me?"

"You don't have to come in during the actual channeling, just … come with me when I go… _if_ I go." He glanced at Klavier, "Would that be okay?"

"I suppose we could come to that compromise. …I would still rather you let the souls of the departed rest. But …if you exhaust all other options and that's the only possible solution that you can come to, then, yes, I will come with you."

"Good." Apollo glanced at his messenger bag and scratched the back of his head, "…I guess I can stay around and do some more work."

"Changed your mind about leaving?"

Apollo shrugged, "…You were getting under my skin earlier, I admit. …But it's quiet here and I can actually get work done without any interruptions."

Klavier's face softened into a smile, "But I thought you enjoyed how lively your office has become, ja?"

"Sometimes." Apollo replied, standing up from the couch and walking back around to the kitchen bar.

"Want me to make some more coffee?"

"Yeah. You can."

Apollo slid back onto the bar stool and Klavier set about working the coffee siphon next to the stove. He glanced over his shoulder at Apollo who was once again spreading his work out before him. Everyone grieved in a different way, but it never did anyone any good to constantly pine for the warmth of those who had already departed. It wasn't his place to make the decision for Apollo; he had to decide what he wanted for himself.

Klavier just hoped that when the time came, Apollo would choose the right one.


End file.
